Jar washer



Jan. 7, 1958 l c. R. CARLSON Erm. 2,818,873

JAR WAS-HER Filed Aug. 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 INVENTO Cjymwm bew? EOMZL' Jan. 7, 1958 c. R. CARLSON TAL 2,818,873

JAR WASHER Filed Aug. 22, 1952 C. R. CARLSON ET AL Jan. 7, 195s JAR WASHER 3 Sheets-Sheefl 3 Fviled Aug. 22, 1952 .V E14 J94 .Il' S 37g a fm United States Patent@ JAR WASHER Carl Raymond Carlson and Robert S. Bonzi, Rockford, Ill., assignors, by `mesne assignments, to W. F. and John Barnes Company, Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 22, 19 52, Serial No. 305,738 8 Claims. (CIL 134-70) The present invention relates to an improved. article washing 'or4 treating-t` apparatus;V and"more.fparticularly to an apparatus for washing a series of bottles, jars, or like articles astheyrpasalohg'a'pretletermined path-.1i s

In` order eonvomially.towash or Votherwise treat' jars,` it is necessary that "the articles be conveyed through the treating appar-atusias :rapidly'fandfas cl-osely together as possible soithat. a large number of articles may be treated in a given amount of time. However, when conveying bottles or jars or similar easily breaka'ble articles, the relatively high speeds necessary create considerable vibration and shock which often tend to ybreak the articles. Furthermore, the prior arty devices often inadequately clean'jars. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a jar or bottle washer-.which conveys the articles at relatively high speeds'without danger of breakageand which effectivelycleans the articles. f V

A more specific -objectof this invention is to provide an apparatus of the ab'ove described type with a novel article conveying mechanismby which a series of closely adjacent jars or other like articles may be conveyed rapidly through lthe apparatus without breakage while at'the same timerotatingthejars so that their surfaces are uniformly presented to the washing or treating mechanism of the apparatus, wherebyA 'thejars may be effectively cleaned.

Another object of the presentiinvention is to provide a conveying mechanism of the above described type which may be easily adjusted'to accommodatevarious -sizes of jars or other like articles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a jar or bottle washing apparatus of the above describedtype which includes a series of sprayl nozzles'disposed adjacent the conveying mechanism,which nozzles may be adjusted to direct thespray at various angles for electively cleaningjars of various sizes and shapes. v l

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following descriptionl and ythe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view, showing a jar washing apparatus whichl embodies principles ofthis invention; A Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of the apparatus shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a vertical `cross sectional View taken'along line3-3inFig.4; y

Fig. 4 is a horizontal crosssectional View takeny along line 4-4in Fig. 3;

Fig. A5 is a' fragmentary vertical cross sectional'view taken along line 5-5 in Fig. 3;"3

Figf `is a cr'osssectional view, sliowingasspray nozzle which maybe utilized; with the apparatus Vof-this Ainvention; VFigs-.713e similarto Fig vention;xv and 5 '-Fi'gaS isY apartialjcrossLsectional view taken along-line leg7-"f "'A- PNL v fragrnentary horizontalI crossisectional View 4but showing'amodiedform, of this in- ICC Referring now more specilically to the drawings, wherein like parts are 'designated by the same numerals throughout the various igures, a jar or bottle'washer, involving the principlesof thisL invention, is shown in Figs. l and 2 and is generally designated by the numeral 10. The washer 10 includes an elongated cabinet'lZ having sides 14 and 16, ends '18 and 20, a bottom 22, and a top Z4 (see Figs. 3 and 4). `The sides, ends,ibottom, and top are preferably constructed from`sheet metal -and joined along their vadjacent edges by welding `or any `other suitable means.` lThe cabinet may :be suitably reinforced by angle irons disposed along its edges and corners. For example, angle irons 26,l 28, 3 0, and 3'2 may b e secured along the vertically extendingcorners of vthe cabinet. Preferably, these last mentionedangle` irons extend downwardly beneath the cabinet 12 to provide support legs, as shown best in Fig. l. The legs may be reinforced and braced parent, which panel is hinged-.to ,the side, as at 34. One

or more chains 38 are connected between the upper or outer edge of the door panel 3.6: and the upper edge portionof the cabinet to support the door in an open positi-on, as shownin Fig, yLLA latch mechanism 40, which may be of any suitable design, is provided for retaining the door in a closed position. j

Extending the lengthl of the cabinet are a pair or" generally horizontally disposed guide or support rails 42 and 44 (see Figs. 3, 4, and 5). These rails are supported on j' and secured to aseries ofspaced inverted U-shaped #brackets 46, which are in turn supported on horizontally disposed braces 48.. vThe braces 48 are supported by having one end .welded or.. otherwise secured to a longitudinally extending angle@t iron 50, which is disposed along the frontside 16 of the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 5. The opposite ,end of the braces or angle irons 48 may be secured as by welding to -a longitudinally extending angle iron 52, or to vertically extending angle irons 54, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.` It should be noted that the guide or support l.rails t42.and g l4,;a re spacedapart sufliciently so thata jar or bottle'5'6 may restthereon in an inverted position, as shown 4in Fig. 5, with the mouth -of the jar sufficiently open to receive the cleaning lluid, as hereinafter more fully describedl Adjacent on'e side of andI above the rails 42 and 44, there is positioned a second` pair of longitudinally extending guide rails 58 and 60g; As shown best in Fig. 5, the guide rails.58 and 60 jare supported in spaced relationship by a bracket "6 2, (which bracket terminates at its lower end in a generallyghorizontally extending flange 64. As shown Figs. 4 andS, a series of these brackets 62 is provided at "'spaced intervals along the cabinet, and the brackets Aare supported on the previously `described cross braces 48. The brackets 62 are preferably secured to the braces 48 by means of a bolt 66 extending through the fhorizontally disposed flange 64 is provi-ded with an elongated slot 68 through which the bolt 66 extends. By this structure, upon loosening the bolts, the brackets 62 may be moved back and forth transversely 0f the cabinet to;p0sition the vertically spaced guide rails 58 and 60 at y'arious locations with respect to the horizontally spaced 'guide rails 42 and 44 in order to accommodate dilerent Sizesand shapes of jars or bott-les. A washer 70 having a di'meter greater than the width of the slot 68 is disposed on the bolt vbetween its head and the dange64 to facilitate the sliding movement between thean'ge'and thelboltjand to enable' thejbolt to be tightened withoutginterferencefrom the slot.

Above theguid'ef'railsy 42' and 44,there is still anhown in Figs. 3. atably mounted sucient length t 124 is secured ivoted at a mid g one end cond connected to resilietly and t thev inner runs e opposite `guide Iith substantially th. While only have been illuss could be used tension of the tion of the beard above.-

shaft 78 which nd has a pulley `34 is driven by pulley 140 (s'ee by any. suitablewhich is convariable speed y are conveyed nozzles 146 are ars and beneath y,best in Figs. 4 o project sprays ,into the mouth n to Fig.A 6, the having its lower of a uid supply includes a solid terminates in a at 154 and 156, round the solid to the stem as er to provide a The upper end y receive a cap `central conical `l tip 152 of the the cap relative pening 162 oni from the conxmay be reguvThus, the spray s and for differnozzles 146 are w'n, by the pipe as water heater i oviding Va water a high temperar to provide the be regulated for end of the pipe h as by cap 174. p of clear Water, veys the water Ato the pipe-166. rol Vthe pressure rringl more parp ofnozzles146 ed adjacent the onsiderable portion of the outer end of the pipe 166 no nozzles are pro-A vided. With this structure,'the jars, after being lrinsedby clear water, are advanced through a portion of the cabinet in which there are no sprays so that the water may drain from the jars. Y, v

The bottom 22 of the c abinetisA inclined,l as is shown in Fig. 3, so qthat vthe water drained;from:thejars ows down, the bottomto dischargepipes'. It should -be noted that if' desired theulower portion of the cabinet maybe divided into two ychambers by a baie plate 182 which is disposed between the ends'of the detergent supply pipe 164 and the `clear water supply pipe 166. Thus, the draining rinse water may be separated from the draining uid detergenf,..A drain `spout 1,84` isprovideclfor conducting the draining rinse water toa drainage chute 186, as shown .in Figs. l, 2, and 3. A similar drainage spout 188 is connected to the bottom of the cabinet for conveying the draining fluid detergent to a ,drainage .chute YIn ordert 'preventgvapor andl,fumesfrom escaping intothe atmosphere surrounding the cabinet, an exhaust duct 192 is connected v,tothe `interiorr of the "cabinet through thertop V2,4, .as shown in Figs. v,1 kand -2. `The exhaust duct may be extended to convey thefurries and vapor to any desired point. Preferably, an exhaust fan, not shown, is disposed within the duct to suckk the fumes and vapor out of the cabinet.` Y

Referring specifically now to Figs.- 7 and 8, there is shown a modified structure resiliently biasing the4 inner runs of the V-belts against the jars and toward the `opposite guide rails. This structure includes a pair of resili-` ent springlingers 194 and 196 which are integrallycon# nected by a liat plate memberV 198. Preferably, the spring lingers. and plate member-are construc'tedmfrom a single sheet of spring Vmetal.` The ,springfinger'sare securedv to a` mounting block 200'by/screw's202fv 'As shown in Fig. 8,-`the mounting block` 200 is connected to thel longitudinally extending plate 72 by one or more screws 204, and theblock extends from the plate between the vertically spaced -Vbelts. The outer free ends of the spring fingersY terminate yin curvedY belt engaging portions 206. The curved end portion of the linger 196 is provided with lianges 208 and 210 which are ared KAoutwardly so that they enclose the opposite sides of the V-belts. The curved end portion of the linger 194'is provided with similar flanges 212 and 214. These flanges `eliminate any sagging. in -the `V,-belts v.and alsogmaintain the belts alignrrient"with` thespi'ingffingers gsd. at there is no danger that the-lingers will become .disengaged from the belts; `Whilewo'nly onespring" linger assembly has been shown in Fig. 8, it is obviouswtlia't sevalsiich assemblies ,should be positioned Kalong,thedeiigth of the V-belts iri"ace'ordaiice with the requirements"dictated by the particu`lr"s'iz`ef and'length of the belts.

The operation of the bottle or jar washer of this invention is` as follows; srie's'f jars 4' y' `l of the washer 'by' anymsui'tablemeans x I proach the" cabinetfmthyware'turned"toan inverted position by the twistr'br lassembly 2,16,Y shown iiiFigsl and The jars enter'the cabinetthrough anopening 2185in the end 18".'v stheWja-rs enter cabinet',r theyare sppdrfe bi fhb9rititallrrad Support failsftl arid 44.211d they are .famed bfwsenthe. Ysrtcallr spaced guide rails 58 and" 60 andthe V-belts. The electric motor 142 is then energized 'todrive the belts; and the speed of the belts may be adjustedrby the varying'speed drive `144. As the inner run of the V-belts advances along the path of travel of the jars, it frictionally engages the jars and causes them to advance therewith. It should be noted that the V-belts press the jars against the opposite guide rails 53 and 60 so that as the jars advance, they are also frictionally engaged by the guide rails. Since the belts move along the path of travel relative to the opposed guide rails, the jars are in elfect rolled along the rails. This rotation of the jars as they are advanced through the Y 6 cabinetgcauses allof their surfaces to be uniformly presented'tothe, washing and rinsing sprays so that they are thoroughlyclean. Before the motor has been energized to drive the belts, the valves 172 and 180 should be opened to permit the liuid detergent tollow into the pipe 164 and out through'the spray'nozzles` connected thereto and'clean `ririsewater to-o`w through the pipe 166 and out through the nozzlescommunicating therewith. It is, of course,vassumed that the spray nozzles have previously been adjusted'for the size and type of jar which` is being passed through the apparatus. After the jars passover the detergentlspraying nozzles and the rinse water spraying nozzles, theypass along a portion of theirpath Vof travelduring which the water is allowed to drain. The jarsY are discharged from the cabinet through the opening 22) and onto any suitable type of discharge conveyor 222. o From the above description, it is seen that the present invention provides a simple and eliicient apparatus, wherein kthejarsfare not only conveyed, but are ralso rotated so as to present all of their surfaces to the cleaning sprays for elfective cleaning. Furthermore, since the jars are always held between the belts and the opposedy guide rails with a substantially uniform pressure, vibrations and shocks'l between the jars and the apparatusl and eachother are greatlyreduced toeliminate breakagie of 'the jars. Vln addition, it should be noted that the simple frictional feeding belts enable the jars to be positioned in aabuttingrelationship so that there can be little if any relative movement between the jars along the path, whereby shocks between the jars are further reducedto reduce breakage.v Y lt is, therefore, seen `thatthe novel jar feeding mechanism of this invention in combination with' the novel structure andlocation of the fluid nozzles pro-v vides a simple and economicalY apparatus which is capable of fully carrying-out the objects set forth hereinabove.

While thef preferred embodiments -of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is obvious that many structure details may be changed without` depart-ing from -the spirit and scope of the appended claims. r n

\ Welclaimn... .l

1.:-.An,apparatus.for. treatingbreakable glass jars and the likepcomprising a pair ofhorizontally disposed elongated-parallel spacedmlixedf support` meansadapted yto support thereon -a series of inverted jars with at least a portion of the open mouths -of the jars uncovered, elongated guide means` disposed-for-.frictional engagement withside surfaces of the jars supported on said support means,t an endlessVA belt having-aportion YthereofV disposed parallel to said guide means for frictional'-engagement with opposite side surfaces of the jars, means for resiliently biasing said portion of the vendless belt toward the guide means and againstvthe jars-with `substantially uniform.-pressure, a series--of spray nozzles Vdisposed for projecting-.jarttreating sprays upwardly between said spaced support means and into the jars,'an elongated guide 'member disposed above said support means for engaging upper closed ends of the jars and preventing the jars yfr ornlifting unduly under the inliuence of the sprays, and means for driving said endless belt to move said portion relative tosaid guide means for advancing and rotating jarsV therebetween whereby all of the interior surfaces of .they jars are presenteduniformly to the sprays'projected by said nozzles.

2. An apparatus for treating breakable glass jars and the like, comprising an elongated generally horizontally arranged housing having jar inlet and outlet openings at opposite ends, a pair of horizontally disposed elongated spaced support members mounted within said housing for supporting a series of inverted jars with at least a portion of the open mouths of the jars uncovered, an elongated guide means disposed within said housing for frictional engagement with sides of jars on said support means, an endless belt mounted within said housing with a portion thereof disposed parallel to said guide means` e'ans'. l, l 2, Whee'i lsaid .,ofrjthe endless (pf spring fingers tAwith said endtheV ,like7V om ntally rraged ings et, Oppsite iSPOsed v support vd uid conduit of therhousing 'thr open muths l'series ofsprayv it for direc-ting v`rs,' said conduits g yadapted tQ be uidsQseparpe m thejars an'd f nozzles, addisupport Ine-ans |verted jars and i under the ining said endless e said rst mentating' jars therefaes of the jars `the sprays prol June 11,7' 1912 Oct. 26, 1915 Apr. 10, 19,17 sept 15, 1924 June 30, 1925 June 15, 11926 Feb. 4, 1947 Aug.'1, 1950 Jan. 16, 1951 Mar. s', 195o 

